IN RESPONSE to the cancellation of all classes, school gatherings, and events during the period of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the Ateneo Commission on Elections (COMELEC) announced that all Sanggunian election-related processes will be postponed until further notice. The commission also said that the next Sanggunian General Elections will be conducted early in the first semester of academic year (AY) 2020-2021 instead.
However, Ateneo COMELEC Commissioner for Finance Gabriel Montoya stated that this decision is working under the assumption that the ECQ will be lifted by the start of the next AY.
This has raised some questions on how the Sanggunian plans to carry out its functions as the central student council until the new officers are elected.
Interim Sanggunian
Ateneo COMELEC’s memo explained that an interim student government will begin their service on May 8 up until the next general elections.
The incumbent Sanggunian Vice President and School Representatives are not set to graduate this school year. However, current Sanggunian President Quiel Quiwa is a graduating senior, which means he will need to step down from office by May 8.
Quiwa stated that by the time the semester ends, he will not be allowed to hold his position as he will no longer be an official student of the University.
According to Article VI, Section 2.1 of the 2019 Constitution of the Undergraduate Students of the Ateneo de Manila Loyola Schools, the rule of succession would apply in creating the interim Sanggunian. Thus, current Sanggunian Vice President Jb Bejarin will have to assume office as the Interim Sanggunian President until the next election is held.
From there, Bejarin will appoint an Interim Sanggunian Vice President from the pool of School Representatives. This includes School of Social Sciences Representative Kat Moreno, School of Science and Engineering Representative LA Ibarrientos, John Gokongwei School of Management Representative Mica Torres, and School of Humanities Representative Matt Rodriguez.
According to Bejarin, the selection process will involve a panel interview with the four eligible candidates. The panel will be open to the LS student body through a livestream on May 6, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM.
The School Representative who will be appointed as Interim Vice President will then provide recommendations to the President for the appointment of a Course Representative. The President will then appoint a Course Representative to fill in the Interim Vice President’s former position.
Quiwa added that other non-graduating Sanggunian officers will remain in their respective positions, and consultations with them are currently being held: “We need to know if everyone’s capable of continuing in this situation.”
Possibilities for electoral processes
Assuming that the ECQ will be lifted by August 2020, electoral processes, such as the Miting de Avance, will have to be adjusted in light of national COVID-19 safety protocols. Montoya said that there may be social distancing restrictions that will limit how many people can be present in the upcoming events.
According to Montoya, the incoming batch of freshmen will be allowed to vote since the elections will be held in the first semester. He explained that excluding them from electoral participation would be a violation of Article II, Section 4 of the same constitution Quiwa quoted.
“Every student has the right to vote members of the student body into Sanggunian through a fair and just election,” it reads.
Montoya added that Ateneo COMELEC is still deliberating on their next course of action in the event that the ECQ will not be lifted by the first semester of the next academic year.
ERRATUM: The original version of this article erroneously mentioned that the Interim Vice President appoints a Course Representative to fill in his or her former position instead of the President. The article has been corrected accordingly. We apologize for this oversight.
